Open AccessReflexive rules as content: the case of deictic demonstratives
Author(s) -
Eduarda Calado Barbosa
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
sofia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2317-2339
DOI - 10.47456/sofia.v8i1.23782
Subject(s) - demonstrative , deixis , meaning (existential) , content (measure theory) , interpretation (philosophy) , reflexivity , linguistics , psychology , interpreter , computer science , epistemology , sociology , philosophy , mathematics , mathematical analysis , social science , programming language
Determining what content is expressed by a demonstrative when its reference cannot be determined is a problem for those who assume that demonstrative reference is cognized by interpreters and demonstrative meaning has a mere indicative role. Here, I explore a concept of content that gives meaning a cognitively relevant role, namely, John Perry’s classificatory concept of content. With that purpose, I compare the interpretation of a deictic demonstrative in two cases: for an eavesdropper and a conversational participant, aiming to show that meaning, in the form of reflexive rules, can be recruited to play the role of content when information (in the speech situation) is scarce.